Indigenous-Inspired Energy Medicine: Integrating Story and Mind-Body Healing

Narrative-Based Somatic Practice for Care Providers

Dates: April 11- 12, 2026

Times: 9 am- 5 pm EST both days

Location: Pacifica College of Health and Science:: 110 Williams St. 19th Floor NY, NY 10038

Cost: $479 through 2/14, then $599. *Student discount available.

Register: HERE

Facilitators: Lewis Mehl-Madrona, MD, PhD, Barbara Mainguy, MA, and Robert Vetter, MA
Contributing Faculty: Caroline Ortiz, PhD, RN, NC-BC

This immersive workshop offers a rare opportunity for healthcare and healing professionals to explore Indigenous-informed approaches to mind-body-spirit healing through the integration of story, somatic practice, and ceremony.

Drawing from the ancestral healing wisdom of Indigenous North American communities—including Lakota, Cherokee, and Southern Plains traditions—participants will learn to elicit personal narratives that uncover the emotional and energetic roots of suffering. These stories are then engaged through hands-on techniques and ritual practices that support the reintegration of the self and restoration of well-being.

Rooted in a cross-cultural, trauma-informed, and culturally respectful lens, this training bridges ancient healing practices with contemporary clinical application in a way that is accessible, relational, and transformative.

Learning Objectives

Participants will:

• Understand the therapeutic role of sacred listening and how to elicit client stories that reveal underlying sources of “dis-ease.”

• Explore the Indigenous concept of susto (soul loss or fright) and learn methods for reintegrating lost vitality through soul retrieval techniques.

• Practice Indigenous-informed energy medicine techniques

• Utilize movement dialogue and guided imagery to engage the body’s inner wisdom

• Learn to recognize and shift limiting core beliefs encoded in the client’s story and body

• Incorporate ritual and ceremony to anchor somatic and narrative healing in a way that honors both culture and spirit

Who Should Attend

This professional training is designed for:

• Nurses

• Bodyworkers and somatic practitioners

• Psychotherapists and counselors

• Integrative medicine clinicians

• Chaplains, coaches, and healing arts professionals

No prior experience with Indigenous healing is required, only a respectful and open approach to cross-cultural learning.

Outcomes

By the end of the workshop, participants will:

• Have a trauma-informed, culturally sensitive framework for integrating narrative medicine and somatic techniques

• Develop a flexible, repeatable protocol for supporting whole-person healing for self and others through story, touch, and ceremony

• Be equipped with practical tools that can be immediately applied in both clinical and community settings

*Student Discount: A 50% discount is available with a current valid Student ID. To receive the student discount, please email a picture of your current valid student ID to coyoteinstituteevents@gmail.com.